An industry insider has denied reports that scenes featuring Hong Kong star Gillian Chung will be deleted from the movie Mei Lanfang. The star has been involved in a nude photo scandal, the Beijing News reports on Tuesday.

The promotional poster for movie Mei Lanfang.

Director Chen Kaige's new movie Mei Lanfang is set to hit the screens this December. Gillian plays the young wife of Mei, the late Peking opera master in the movie.

Some media reports have suggested that all scenes featuring Gillian will be deleted. Such a suspicion was caused by a promotional booklet released by China Film Group Corporation, the movie's producer during the Shanghai International Film Festival.

The booklet featured several names of the star-studded cast such including Zhang Ziyi and Leon Lai. But Gillian's name was absent.

However, Huang Bin, an assistant of Chen Kaige denied these reports, saying that the film editing has not been completed. The director's final decision is still unknown.

Gillian once tried to return to the stage after being involved in a nude photo scandal. But the pop singer had to stop working after her return to the spotlight drew several complaints from the public.

(CRI June 17, 2008)